Japan weathered an early storm to race to a 33-14 victory over Samoa, their seventh win on the trot, but just their third in 13 clashes with the Pacific Islanders, in Tokyo on Friday.
Full-back Ayumu Goromaru kicked a total of 18 points, while winger Yoshikazu Fujita seared over for a brace of tries as the Brave Blossoms overturned a 7-0 deficit to blitz their hard-hitting rivals.
With head coach Eddie Jones, the man credited with masterminding the continual growth of the game in Japan targeting a quarter-final spot at next year's World Cup, the win will offer his side some psychological benefit as Samoa join Japan, Scotland, USA and South Africa in Pool B in England.
"We've broken the record with seven wins in a row," Jones told reporters. "That's a fantastic achievement. Our target next week is to make it eight."
"We made hard work of it but the great thing is we created a lot of opportunities. I really liked the attitude of the players today and obviously we can improve."
"It was a big Test for us as we build for the World Cup," admitted Samoa counterpart Steven Betham.
"We learn from our mistakes and move on. Japan work well as a unit. They have made big strides in the last couple of years."
